Continuous Glucose Monitor Shows Potential for Early Hypoglycemia Detection in Hospitalized Patients

Abstract

Objective:

This study shows the potential of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for the detection of hypoglycemia in hospitalized patients.

Research Design and Methods:

A Medtronic Diabetes (Northridge, CA) CGMS^® iPro™ continuous glucose recorder was inserted into the subcutaneous tissue of a hospitalized orthopedic surgery patient with type 1 diabetes the day after a moderate hypoglycemia event. The interstitial fluid glucose concentration was recorded every 5 min. Both the patient and the hospital staff were blinded to the CGM data. Bedside capillary blood glucose measurements were performed per hospital protocol.

Results:

The CGM recorded a repeat severe episode of hypoglycemia the next day. The hospital-defined threshold for hypoglycemia (70 mg/dL) was crossed 4.5 h prior to the patient being found unconscious by the nursing staff.

Conclusion:

Data from the CGMS iPro Recorder illustrate the potential benefit of using a real-time CGM in the hospital to detect hypoglycemia in a more timely fashion compared to infrequent point-of-care glucose meter measurements.